List of light deities

The Norse light god Baldr

A light deity is a god or goddess in mythology associated with light and/or day. Since stars give off light, star deities can also be included here. The following is a list of light deities in various mythologies.

African

Egyptian mythology

• Khepri, god of rebirth and the sunrise
• Nefertem, god who represents the first sunlight

Guanche

• Magec, deity of the sun and light, exact gender unknown

Dahomean religion

• Lisa, deity of the sun, heat, sky ^[1]

American

Lakota mythology

• Anpao, two-faced spirit of the dawn

Maya mythology

• Tohil, god associated with thunder, lightning, and sunrise

Aztec

• Centzonhuitznahua, 400 gods of the southern stars
• Centzonmimixcoa, 400 gods of the northern stars
• Cipactonal, god of the daytime
• Citlālicue, goddess who created the stars
• Citlalmina, goddess of female stars
• Citlalatonac, god of male stars
• Tianquiztli, star goddesses
• Xiuhtecuhtli, god of fire, day, and heat

Zapotec

• Coquihani, god of light

Incan

• Inti, god of the sun
• Ch'aska ("Venus") or Ch'aska Quyllur ("Venus star"), goddess of dawn and twilight, the planet
• Mama Killa, goddess of the moon

Asian

Chinese

• Zhulong, dragon deity of daylight

Japanese

• Amaterasu, goddess of the sun
• Uzume, goddess of the dawn

Hindu

• Aruṇa, personification of the reddish glow of the rising sun
• Dyaus Pita, continues the name of the Proto-Indo-European god of the day-lit sky
• Ushas, dawn goddess

Sumerian

• Inanna, primary goddess of the planet Venus
• Ninsianna, goddess of the planet Venus
• Šul-pa-e, underworld god who became associated with Jupiter
• Shulsaga, stellar god
• Aya (goddess), goddess of light and the dawn

European

Albanian

• Dielli, the Sun, god of light
• Hëna, the Moon
• Prende, dawn goddess, also referred to as Hylli i Dritës, Afêrdita "the Star of Light, Afêrdita" (Venus)
• Zjarri, the Fire, light deity
• Zojz, as a reflex of *Dyeus, god of the day-lit sky

Baltic

• Dievas, creator god in Baltic myths

Celtic

• Lugh, personification of the sun

Etruscan

• Albina, goddess of the dawn and protector of ill-fated lovers
• Thesan, goddess of the dawn, associated with new life

Germanic

• Baldr, god thought to be associated with light and/or day; is known by many other names, all of which have cognates in other Germanic languages, suggesting he may have been a pan-Germanic deity
• Dagr, personification of day
• Earendel, god of rising light and/or a star
• Eostre, considered to continue the Proto-Indo-European dawn goddess
• Freyr, god of sunshine, among other things
• Sól, goddess and personification of the sun
• Teiwaz, as a reflex of *Dyeus, was probably originally god of the day-lit sky
• Thor, god of lightning, thunder, weather, storms, and the sky

Slavic

• Dazhbog, god of the sun and day

Greek

• Aether, primarily associated with upper air but associated with light in Hesiod's Theogony
• Apollo, god of light, among many other things
• Eos, goddess of the dawn
• Hemera, personification of day
• Hyperion, Titan of light; sometimes conflated with his son Helios
• Lampetia, goddess of light, and one of the Heliades or daughters of Helios , god of the Sun, and of the nymph Neera . 
• Theia, Titaness of sight and the shining light of the clear blue sky. She is the consort of Hyperion and mother of Helios, Selene, and Eos.
• Zeus, as a reflex of *Dyeus, could be considered god of the day-lit sky
• Phoebe, titaness daughter of Ouranos and Gaia, whose name means shining or bright, with Kios gave birth to first Leto, mother of Apollo and Artemis, and then to Asteria, who with Persea, son of Crius, became mother to Hekate.
• Astrae is another titaness who is a light being as is Persphone whose name means "light bringer." Armenian.

Roman

• Aurora (mythology), goddess of the dawn
• Jupiter (mythology), as a reflex of *Dyeus, god of the day-lit sky
• Mater Matuta, goddess associated with Aurora

Oceania

Polynesian

• Atanua, Marquesan goddess of the dawn
• Atarapa, goddess of the dawn
• Ira, sky goddess and mother of the stars
• Tala goddess of the stars

Māori mythology

• Ao (mythology), personification of light

See also

• List of night deities
• List of solar deities
• Lucifer
• Sky deity

References

1. "Mawu-Lisa". Oxford Reference. Retrieved 2023-03-09.